I’m Stealing Shea McGee’s Simple Trick for a Never-Tacky Halloween – ‘It’s One of the Easiest Holidays to Overdo’
From why cheap-looking materials are the real fright to the one impact area you should never skip, shop Shea McGee’s foolproof formula for a timeless Halloween
If you’re still terrified to decorate this Halloween, you’re not alone. There’s a fine line between a spook-scape that’s freakishly fierce and one that’s frightening for all the wrong reasons, so it takes an intrepid tastemaker like Shea McGee to clear the right cobwebs without sweeping away the spirit of the season.
‘Halloween is one of the easiest holidays to overdo because so much of what’s available feels disposable,’ she admits. Shea's goal, during this decidedly kitschy holiday and forever, is timelessness. ‘My approach to Halloween decor has always been to decorate for the season the same way I’d decorate any other time of year – with beautiful materials, thoughtful craftsmanship, and pieces that feel like a natural extension of your home.’
It’s an ethos written all over her Halloween 2026 collection for McGee & Co., where killer blood-rimmed dessert plates meet silver skeleton serveware, and coffin-shaped marble boards seal your charcuterie coma with the utmost style. When it comes time to put these paranormal details into practice, Shea begins at the epicenter of so many of our greatest personal dreams and familial nightmares: the Halloween table.
The only thing scarier than terrible materials is trying too hard this Halloween. Shea insists keeping the scares high and your usual standards higher.
‘I like to start with natural textures and candlelight. Beautiful linens, layered serving pieces, and sculptural accents create a setting that feels elegant first, with just a hint of Halloween.’ Think a blackened bronze candlestick holding a twisted taper, or a moody two-tone tablecloth. Even when the table isn’t technically in use, and your vampy vignette is really only doubling as decor, her restraint rule stands: ‘It should always feel like a dinner party first.’
The creeps carry on through the living room, where Shea keeps the chic factor obvious and the spooks subtle – saving the big ‘boo’ for later. Among her favorite faint frights this season are wicker, wall-loving bats, sold as a colony of three and graduated for a little prescriptive ‘in-flight’ play, and coordinating wicker cauldrons, witch – filled with some sort of 'aged' oxblood foliage – could cosplay as vases.
‘The bats are woven with real structure, so they read more like sculptural wall art than seasonal decor. The wicker cauldrons have that same substantial quality – they’re beautiful beside a fireplace or on a console, but they never feel like something that’s only meant for one night.’
Don't get creeped out. Even the spookiest additions should feel eerily at home with everything you already own.
You’ll be glad you didn’t dive too deep into the dark side. According to Shea, the entryway is where your more macabre fare can finally make its grand entrance, both inside and out. ‘The entryway is where I’ll let things become a little more dramatic,’ she explains. ‘A wreath on the door, illuminated houses on a console, or a pair of topiaries flanking the entrance creates a memorable first impression without feeling theatrical.’ Aim to have them at ‘haunt.'
Golden ferns feel adequately ghoulish among a few frightening accessories – and can stick around for the rest of the season.
During a season when most stores seem determined to serve up a terrifyingly tacky hellscape of cheap orange plastic and tangled $2 netting, the lesson is to decorate for Halloween with the same eagle eye for elegance and quality you bring to the rest of the year. Choose right, and none of it needs to die off come November 1. Shea seals the coffin: ‘When seasonal decor has real weight, texture, and craftsmanship, it becomes something you look forward to unpacking every October instead of replacing year after year.’
Ahead, everything you need for a house that haunts in very good taste.
Follow Shea’s Halloween formula, and every room will be so stylish, it’s scary. Speaking of, I was pretty terrified to bring a floral sofa home – until she showed me exactly how to style one.
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